Staff
Dr. Jeff Halper is the Co-founder and Director of ICAHD, the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions. He was born in 1946 in Minnesota and emigrated to Israel in 1973. Since then he has been a tireless advocate for justice and civil rights for all Israelis and Palestinians. He spent ten years as a community worker in Jerusalem aiding low-income Mizrahi families. He co-founded ICAHD in 1997 to help resist Israel’s strategy of house demolitions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. He is the author of three books, 'Between Redemption and Revival: The Jewish Yishuv in Jerusalem in the Nineteenth Century', 'An Israeli in Palestine: Resisting Possession, Redeeming Israel', and 'Obstacles to Peace: A reframing of the Palestinian – Israeli Conflict'.
In 2006 Dr. Halper was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, citing ICAHD's work "to liberate both the Palestinian and the Israeli people from the yoke of structural violence" and "to build equality between their people by recognizing and celebrating their common humanity."
Hibat Yousef Mahroum is ICAHD's Administration and Finance Coordinator. She was born in 1977 in Nazareth. Before joining ICAHD, she was active for the rights of Arab students at university. Hibat holds a B.A. in social sciences and humanities specializing in communications.
Salim Shawamreh is ICAHD's Field Coordinator, and a qualified construction engineer. Salim, a long serving ICAHD staff member comes from the Shuafat Refugee Camp north-east of Jerusalem.